Persian Shul Adopts Membership System

For many Jews, the High Holidays and membership drives go together like apples and honey. But for communities newer to America, the thought of paying an annual fee to “belong” to a house of worship is a foreign concept.

For centuries, Persian Jews have traditionally raised funds for religious activities by auctioning off or bidding on aliyot, the bringing out of the Torah and other rituals during Shabbat and holiday services. But after 25 years in Los Angeles, Persian Jews are beginning to embrace the concept of membership.

At the forefront of this push has been the Nessah Cultural Center in Beverly Hills, which became the first Persian synagogue in California to offer a membership program last year.

“The torch at Nessah has been passed to a new generation of younger people on our board of directors who decided that we needed membership in order to create a sense of belonging in the community,” said Dr. Morgan Hakimi, Nessahâs newly elected president.

Isaac Eshaghan, chairman of Nessahâs membership committee, said Nessahâs approximate 1,400 members have primarily been drawn to join Nessah because of the synagogueâs English and Persian services.

“Last year, three weeks before Rosh Hashana, we were sold out because we offered membership according to the number of seats we had,” Eshaghan said. “Our membership is in an affordable range and on average costs less than $1,000 per family.”

According to Nessah membership records, membership dues for married couples between the ages of 18 and 30 are $500, with $650 for couples 31 to 64 and $500 for couples over 65. Likewise, singles 18 to 30 are $150, singles 31 to 64 pay $350 and singles over 65 pay $250. Children under 7 are free, while it is $50 for children 8 to 11 and $125 for children 13 to 17 years old.

Nessahâs membership program is gaining acceptance due to the communityâs familiarity with membership requirements at local Ashkenazi synagogues such as Stephen S. Wise and Sinai Temple, Eshaghan said.

“Joint membership with American temples is common with our members because their children go to day schools at these temples and membership is required there,” he said.

Nessahâs leadership will gradually phase out the traditional auction method of fund raising in the coming years.

“Everybody [on the board of directors] was in favor of not announcing the large sums of money donated during services because it takes a lot of time and is annoying to people who hear the shouting when theyâve come to temple to pray,” said David Pourbaba, chairman of Nessahâs ritual committee.

Rather than bidding on them during temple services, Pourbaba said Nessah congregants have agreed to call in their donations beforehand in order to receive aliyot and participation in other rituals.

“Weâve gotten some resistance from the older generation,” said Pourbaba, who added that the change has impacted the synagogueâs income, “but in the long run this is the best direction to go.”

Hakimi, who earlier this month became the first female president of any Persian synagogue in the United States, said additional funds available from membership dues collected have enabled Nessah to offer new programs and workshops to its members.

“Nessah is proud to welcome all groups from different levels of religiosity and income,” she said. “We will be offering support groups, a new teen center, book club, self-help classes, yoga classes and a business networking group.”

Just as Nessah has drawn a large following of Persian Jews, so has Sinai Temple with nearly 700 to 800 Persian Jewish families among its members, said Sinaiâs Rabbi David Wolpe.

“As a rabbi, I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to come to the temple at a time when Iranian Jews have settled in our community because it enriches Sinai Temple beyond belief,” Wolpe said.

Michael Nazarian, Sinaiâs vice president of membership, said Iranian Jews have flocked to Sinai because of the synagogueâs school and the warm reception theyâve received from Sinaiâs leadership over the years.

Sinai Temple has also developed the ATID program to draw in teenagers and young adults with lectures, workshops and other events. Also, the temple is courting Jews between the ages of 23 and 35 by offering them memberships for as low as $180.

“The atmosphere we have at Sinai is very friendly between Ashkenazim and Iranians,” said Nazarian, who is also on Sinaiâs executive board of directors. “We have a number of Iranians on our board of directors, in our committees, and of course our past president Jimmy Delshad was also Iranian.”

However, Wolpe and Persian members of Sinai Temple acknowledged that some Persians have not renewed their memberships with the synagogue after their children complete the bânai mitzvah program.

“It is a problem in general with synagogue membership with many Jews across the country. What we try to do is educate them that there are benefits to keeping their connection with the temple,” Wolpe said.

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